Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    ULAN BATOR, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government has decided to send its 10th contingent of peacekeeping soldiers to Iraq after the ninth batch completes the mission on July 25, the government's press office said Thursday.

    The 10th batch of peacekeepers will be on patrol missions to maintain security in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, the press office said.

    In September 2003, Mongolia sent its first batch of 173 soldiers to Iraq to take part in the peacekeeping mission and reconstruction work there. Since then, nine groups of more than 1,000 Mongolian soldiers have been sent to the war-torn nation.